


Letter to a prisoner

by Sweet_Voice_of_Yala



Category: Rift World Series - Ephemeral Rift
Genre: Arkham Sanitarium, Ephemeral Rift, Gen, Kidnapping, Letter, Mentions of Violence, Rift World - Freeform, loss of family member
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 04:12:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19201660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweet_Voice_of_Yala/pseuds/Sweet_Voice_of_Yala
Summary: I'm a prisoner, yes, but that doesn't mean you are free.





	Letter to a prisoner

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Bounty Hunter [ ASMR Viewer Choice ]](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/490195) by Ephemeral Rift. 



> This is a fanfic for the Rift World Universe, created by YouTuber Ephemeral Rift (who is not only an ASMRtist but also an amazing storyteller)  
> [Ephemeral Rift.com](https://ephemeralrift.com/)  
> The OC and the story are mine, everything else belongs to him.
> 
> English is not my first language, so please be gentle with me. Corrections are very welcome.  
> Also, I'm new here, please let me know if I made a mistake (category, warnings etc). Thanks :)

Bloodstained letter found near Arkham Sanitarium’s garbage dump

My dear Hunter,

this is the first time I’m writing a letter to someone, knowing that they’ll never get to see it.  
I will burn it once it’s finished.  
There’s no use sending it, you wouldn’t understand me, even if you were interested.

It’s been several months since you ‘delivered’ me to this place (and collected your reward I guess).  
It is as dreadful as you told me. I hear the screams you mentioned on a regular basis, I saw the beings that emit them and why they do so.  
One or two of those screams were mine, did you recognize them? My pleas for mercy must have been loud enough to be heard more than ten miles from here.  
But maybe you are far away, in another country, looking for your next quarry?  
Another victim you can take to the Professor for the money and the thrill of the hunt?  
You have no idea of the horrors in this place and I almost envy you for it.  
But if I’m right, this is going to change. 

I have talked to residents and staff members and now know more about the Professor’s methods to find new patients.  
Or subjects as he calls them.  
While I still have no clue of the exact nature of his plans, I do know that his experiments serve a purpose, they aren’t just the spawn of a sadistic mind. 

Strange as it may seem but even after all I have been through, I cannot bring myself to hate you.  
Perhaps it’s that unexpected kindness you showed me or the fact that you did not hurt me more than necessary. Yeah yeah, I know: The better the shape, the better the resumé, but do you really think the Professor would have minded if I had been a bit more... frightened? Your experience in “obtaining information” surely includes how to inflict pain without leaving marks, doesn’t it?  
But you refrained from it even after centuries of being a hunter and having a good reason. Be it kindness, a code of honor or because you’re a man (a being?) of principles, I respect you for it.  
Come to think about it, it may have been your honesty as well. You told me the truth right away and that was it. No flattery, no beating around the bush, no lies. I’ve come to hate that stuff since I arrived here, they feed it to the patients in abundance and far too many believe it.

But actually I guess it’s because you lost your parents. That must have been horrible, especially for one so young. Did this “outlander” treat you well at least? I hope so, although I have my doubts. There’s a patient here who refers to his abusive father as his “genitor”, in the same tone of voice that you had.  
By the way, did you know that I lost a family member as well? It wasn’t a parent, ‘just’ my younger brother.  
And he did not disappear because of “people like me”, his death wasn’t anybody’s fault.  
It doesn’t make it easier, by the way. You have someone to blame for your loss, I have to deal with the pain and the anger all by myself. 

You know, at times I wonder what would have happened had the circumstances been different. Would we have shared our stories? Found comfort in each other even?  
But I’m getting side-tracked here.  
As I mentioned the Professor seems to have a plan. Lately he is getting more hectic and throws all caution to the wind to find new victims. He doesn’t even keep it a secret anymore. We have an amusement park and a hotel now, did you know that? The park has several ‘specialties’ and attracts many visitors.  
Some take up residence at the Sanitarium afterwards.

The people outside know about this, in case you were wondering. There is talk, there are rumors, people share stories and some of them reach us here. This facility isn’t as sealed as the Professor likes to think.  
The weak points are, as usual, the people.  
Most of them aren’t bribable of course but those who are… A little, mmh, _care_ can go a long way. And I’m a shapeshifter which adds to their pleasure, I suppose.  
I never ask for much by the way: “Please give this letter to this person.”, “Please let me speak to this patient.”, “Just look the other way, please.”  
Small things, done in the blink of an eye.  
And I reward them justly. After all, I still have the appetite of a human, right?

The security guards are the easiest to seduce. No one here is paid very well but they receive the lowest salary, if any at all. It’s alarming and sad to see how much a token or two can get you.  
In fact it was one of them who confirmed a rumor I had been following up for some time.  
It seems that the Professor is building an army. That would explain the body modifications they are offering so generously to anyone here.  
Do you already know where this leads to? No? Very well.  
Yes, the Professor wanted me because I’m a shapeshifter. He is looking for beings with special powers.  
Still no idea what I’m getting at? Do I really have to say it?  
You’re a hunter, your skills honed for centuries. You’re willing to do his bidding, you don’t ask questions, you’re afraid of him and he has something you desperately want.  
You love hunting and feel no remorse.  
He will want you too, do you realize that? It would be stupid to pass on a fine specimen like you and we both know that he is insane but an idiot he is not.

You don’t have a place to hide from him, you said. Let me tell you something: even if you had, you wouldn’t go there. You need the markings.  
And you will get them.  
The Professor will give them to you because he knows that you won’t be able to handle it. Even I can see that. Someone who, after centuries, doesn’t understand that there is no such thing as “people like me” is not ready at all.  
Let me simplify this, so you can fit it into your world view: There are good people and bad people. Or if these words don’t mean anything to you, there are those responsible for your loss and those who aren’t. 

The pain is still there, isn’t it? And it has been gnawing at you through the centuries, am I right?  
In that case keeping a clear head is next to impossible of course. 

Did you know that others use these strange blocks as well? I have seen doctors with them and nurses, even patients.  
Moreover, one of my informers told me that she had seen “that half-mad apocalypse trader out in the wastelands” trying to sell them.  
I highly doubt the Professor would let others have them if they held the powers you so long for. 

Be it the knowledge you crave or whatever the Professor is trying to bring into our world, you will go crazy at what you see. And the Professor will be there to... take care of you.  
What made you think that he will keep his promise in the first place? You don’t mean anything to him, you’re just a useful tool.  
Apart from that, why should he give you the “unlimited knowledge and power”? You’d become a rival and he cannot let that happen.

Black soul or not, I pity you. The Professor keeps you on a leash and you don’t even see it.  
I almost wish you won’t get what you want but that would mean more of “my kind” will be hunted down and brought to the Sanitarium.  
But in the end my wishes don’t matter. You will reach your goal. The Professor will give you the last markings because _he_ will benefit from it. And _you_ will follow through because your longing blinds you.

Yes, you will reach your goal. But sadly, I don’t envy you one bit.

  

Sincerely,  
your Quarry


End file.
